NEW YORK, November 10, 2009 (WAFA)- “We are at a pivotal moment where, for once, it may truly be possible to break the obscene cycle of impunity by the [Israeli] occupier and persecution of the occupied,” said the First Counselor of Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations Ms. Feda Abdelhady Nasser before the Special Political and Decolonization Committee.
“The calls for responsible action, accountability and justice are intense and must be heeded,” she added. “This is imperative for halting Israel’s violations and ensuring its compliance with international law. This is also necessary for creating the appropriate conditions advancing the cause of peace towards ending the Israeli occupation that began in 1967 and establishing the independent State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, where the Palestinian people can finally realize their human rights, including to self-determination.
She reiterate that this military occupation, which itself constitutes a grave human rights violation, is the root of all the human rights violations being inflicted on the Palestinian people. As affirmed in the Goldstone Report: “Israel’s continuing occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank emerged as the fundamental factor underlying violations of international humanitarian and human rights law against the protected population and undermining prospects for development and peace… The Mission is of the view that ending the occupation is a prerequisite for the return of a dignified life for Palestinians, as well as development and a peaceful solution to the conflict.”
She regretted that the Special Committee was again unable to enter the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the Occupied Syrian Golan due to Israel’s obstruction and refusal to cooperate with yet another United Nations mission. “We are aware, however, that Special Committee was able to carry out a mission to region, reviewing, inter alia, Palestinian, Syrian and Israeli witness testimonies on the basis of the human rights standards enshrined in the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the 4thGeneva Convention, the 3rd Geneva Convention, and relevant UN resolutions.”
“This unlawful two-pronged Israeli policy- centered on the subjugation and oppression of the Palestinian people in conjunction with the colonization of the Palestinian land - has not only continued, but intensified in the past year,” Ms. Abdelhady said. “This policy has entailed gross human rights violations - including the rights to self-determination, to life, to security, to property, to food, to healthcare, to education, to livelihood, to an adequate standard of living, to movement and to worship.”
“Such illegal Israeli practices have caused socio-economic devastation, fragmented the unity, contiguity and integrity of the Palestinian Territory, and fueled the cycles of violence over the years,” she added. “Israel’s flagrant disrespect for international law and the international community’s calls for compliance with legal obligations have impeded the efforts to resume the peace process - based on relevant UN resolutions, the Madrid terms of reference, the Arab Peace Initiative, and the Quartet Road Map - and caused the further deterioration and destabilization of the situation on the ground.”
“Combined, the settlements, Wall, bypass roads, checkpoints and other Israeli military installations, are occupying huge swaths of Palestinian land, including areas with water and natural resources that are being exploited, and have created a deplorable situation whereby Palestinian communities are being separated, many transformed into walled cantons and some completely destroyed,” Ms.Abdelhady said. “This has caused the displacement of thousands of civilians and widespread socio-economic deprivation. Moreover, the contiguity, integrity and unity of the Palestinian Territory are being gravely undermined.”
“The continuation of this illegitimate situation threatens the prospects for peace and stability. Colonization and the peace process cannot coexist,” she concluded . “It is making the establishment of a contiguous, viable and independent Palestinian State more difficult to physically achieve, endangering the realization of the two-State solution for peace on the basis of the pre-1967 borders, in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions, including resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 1397 (2002), 1515 (2003) and 1850 (2008), the Madrid terms of reference, including the land for peace principle, the Arab Peace Initiative and the Road Map. The international community, including the Security Council, must therefore act with urgency to compel Israel to halt its illegal settlement activities, abide by all of its legal obligations, and commit to the pursuit of peace.”
